10 things in tech you need to know today
1. Apple wants to start making its own original TV shows and movies. According to a new report, the company has been meeting with Hollywood execs and even made a bid for "Top Gear" hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond.
2. Google Life Sciences has partnered with a European pharmaceutical company to develop technologies to treat diabetes. Paris-based Sanofi currently makes a number of insulin medications along with devices to administer them.
3. Ashley Madison was full of robots, not just men. The data dumped by a hacker group appears to show more than 70,000 fake robot profiles, almost all impersonating women and regularly speaking to real men on the site.
4. Analysts believe Apple could be working on its own augmented reality technology. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster has pointed out that the company acquired a few augmented reality startups like Metaio and PrimeSense.
5. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is having twins. Mayer says she plans to work throughout her pregnancy and take "limited time away" from Yahoo after the birth of her two girls in December.
6. HP told some employees to choose between becoming contractors with no benefits or being fired without severance. A group of full-time workers, mostly hourly employees, were told in late July they could become contract workers for agency Adecco August 15.
7. Samsung has unveiled its latest smartwatch. Like the previous Gear S, there's an option to buy the Gear S2 with a built-in 3G radio so that you can use it completely independently of your phone.
8. WeWork may struggle to meet some very optimistic financial projections. The co-working space operator's near-term costs appear artificially low because of large initial concessions from landlords, like initial free rent on office space because of longer lease deals.
9. Tim Cook made a surprise appearance at Cisco's sales conference. Cisco has struck a surprise deal with Apple to make iPhones and iPads work better on networks powered by Cisco gear.
10. Ashley Madison says its user base is still growing. Former CEO Noel Biderman, who stood down on Friday, says hundreds of thousands of users have joined the site since it was hacked.